A Place to Belong
by remorseofthedead
Summary: Ace wakes up to find himself on Whitebeards ship. Is this the chance he was looking for to kill Whitebeard?...Non-Canon


I do not own One Piece.  
This is Non-canon.

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It is a terrible feeling, waking up on an unfamiliar ship after nearly getting killed, it is even worse when you find out that the ship actual belongs to the person who nearly killed you. That is what just happened to me, so here I sit, leaning against the side of the ship that belongs to the so called 'strongest man in the world' as one of his commanders goes on about us becoming friends and how there was no need to keep me chained up, which is pretty humiliating. But, the more I think about it, the more I realize that it may be a blessing in disguise, staying on his ship means that I don't have to look for him again to try and kill him, which I will succeed in. I will prove that I am better than my no good father, I will make such a big name for myself that everyone will respect me. I won't be taunted again for my bad blood, no one will ever again say that I shouldn't have been born.

Everyday, I have attacked him and have yet to hit him once. Everyday, he sends me flying, through a wall or into the sea, as soon as I get anywhere near him. And everyday someone in his crew either patches me up or jumps into the sea to save me, which makes no sense to me. Why would they go through the trouble to help someone who wants their captain dead? Why would they go through the trouble for the son of his dead rival?…well I guess they don't know that one, I haven't told anyone at least nor do I plan to.

So, here I am, once again getting patched up by Marco. No matter how much I insist that I don't need his, or anyone else on this ship's, help, he would just smile lightly and go back to cleaning my newest wound.

"Why do you do this?" I ask suddenly, it was the first time I had said anything to any of them, other than demanding to be let off of the ship or that I didn't need their help. But all Marco did to acknowledge my question, was a quick glance at me, before going back to tending to my bruised and cut up face. "Why do any of you help me? I'm the enemy, I'm trying to kill your Captain….so, why would you…any of you, save me from drowning, or patch up my wounds, or anything?…It doesn't make sense."

"You're not our enemy," is his only reply as he packs up the first aid kit and walks off. I sit there in stunned silence, wondering what he could have meant, how could someone who wants your Captain dead, not be the enemy? Does he mean that he doesn't believe I can kill Whitebeard?…or is he under some delusion that I don't really want to kill him? Both of which are completely ridiculous, I have to kill Whitebeard, I have to do what he couldn't.

Feeling my anger begin to rise, I stalk off to another part of the ship, wanting to plan another, hopefully final, attempt on Whitebeard's life. But as soon as I sat down, my narcolepsy attacked and I fell asleep.

It has been a few days since my confusing talk with Marco and I still cannot figure out what he meant. I am not going to ask of course, I can figure it out on my own. Here I sit, leaning against the railing of the ship, still contemplating Marco's words, and trying to figure out a way to kill Whitebeard, I haven't made any attempts in the past few days, I just can't seem to get into the mood.

I break from my thoughts with a start as a bowl is laid beside me. I look up to see Marco beginning to walk away.

"Why do you call him Pops?" I find myself asking.  
"Because he calls us his sons. To the rest of the world, we're just outcasts. Its just a word. But it makes us happy!" He replies, smiling broadly. At his words, I feel tears beginning to flow down my cheeks. I lower my head to my arms, which were folded on top of my drawn up knees, and bite my lips, hoping to stifle the sobs trying to break free from my throat. I look up through my hair as I hear movement, to see Marco sitting down next to me. "You know, Pops already considers you one of his sons, just as the crew already considers you a little brother." I could no longer hold in the sobs and began crying into my arms. For a fleeting second, I felt embarrassment rise in me for crying in front of another person, but I can't bring myself to care anymore.

I cry for what feels like hours, before finally wiping my tears away. I glance up and feel a bit of warmth at noticing that Marco hadn't left. I take a deep breath and smile bitterly up at the sky before standing up. "You wouldn't want me as a brother." I whisper as I begin walking away.

"That's not true," he responds just as quietly, "I'm proud to call you brother, and Pops is proud to call you son. You are already a part of this family, whether you want to admit it or not." A small smiles speeds across my face and I walk away, feeling happier than I had since leaving Foosha Village and Luffy.

The anniversary of Sabo's death snuck up on me. I hadn't realized that so much time had passed. It has been a month since my conversation with Marco, and my breakdown in front of him, it has been a month and a half since my last attack on Whitebeard.

I sit on the railing at the back of the ship, staring out at the sea. My shirt lays behind me and my hand covers part of the tattoo on my arm. Sabo…my first brother, my best friend, who I couldn't protect. Tears begin falling from my eyes as I remember our time together, but I don't care enough to wipe them away or look away from the sea. I am so lost in my memories that I do not notice someone approaching until they are right next to me. I glance over to see Marco staring out at the sea with me. He doesn't say anything, or look at me, which is why I find myself telling him everything. I tell him about meeting Sabo, raising money together, getting into fights together, living in our secret base with Luffy, our dreams of becoming pirates, Sabo's family and how Sabo was killed. "…that is why I have this tattoo." I continue, rubbing my hand over the ink. "Most people just assume that the tattoo artist messed up or that I was wasted and told them wrong. But I did it deliberately. It makes me feel as if a part of him is still with me….and as a reminder that although I wasn't able to protect him, Sabo wouldn't want me to be depressed about it, he would want me to go on with my life. To fulfill our promise to become great pirates." I look down smiling slightly, tears still running down my face.

Marco stares at me for a few seconds before turning back to the sea. "That is a good reason for a tattoo. I'm sure it makes him happy to be remembered forever on your skin, and he sounds like a wonderful brother, but I am sure that he doesn't like you blaming yourself for his death…" I stare in shock at Marco, wondering how he could have possibly known that.

"I should have been able to save him, I should have gotten him while he was still at his dad's house. He shouldn't have been shot down while trying to live his dream. It should have never come to that. He should still be alive, somewhere out on the sea, living the free life that he always dreamed of. But I couldn't protect him, I couldn't protect anyone." I yell, tears once again falling freely from my eyes. "I should have been a better brother."

"I'm sure Sabo thought you were an amazing brother, just as Luffy probably does now. You care too much to ever be a bad brother…Is that why you don't want to join us, because you think you wouldn't be able to protect us as brothers? or you don't want to feel like you are replacing Sabo? because that isn't what we are trying to do, we would never try to replace a loved one. Pops is just offering you a chance to have new brothers."

"That might be part of the reason, but I don't mind having brothers…I think it would actually be kind of nice to have some new brothers. But I don't want, nor do I need, a father. Anyways, I doubt that anyone here would want to be my brother when they found out that…" I abruptly close my mouth, causing my teeth to click together and turn my head away. I can't believe I almost told Marco about my father. I can't let him, or anyone else on the ship, know. They have been kind to me so far, but that would surely change if they found out.

I glance back over to see Marco staring at me like he is trying to solve a difficult puzzle. My eyes widen slightly as he seems to come to a conclusion. "We all came here because we didn't fit anywhere else. Society didn't want us, for various reasons. No one on this ship will judge you based on anything that happened in the past…or on whose blood runs in your veins." He smiles comfortingly and briefly places a hand on my shoulder before walking away. I stare shocked at where he had been standing before a small smile graces my lips. They wouldn't care, huh?

I made my decision a few days later. I would join the crew, if Whitebeard still wanted me after I told him of my heritage. I woke up the morning I decided to talk to him on, full of nerves. I didn't know what would happen. I didn't know if he would still welcome me or if he would toss me off the ship without a care, or possibly kill me himself. There were so many possible outcomes, but only one good one. I spent the entire day sitting on the railing as far away from Whitebeard as I could and still be able to see him. I watch as his talks with different members of the crew, a small loving smile on his face the whole time. I try and try to come up with a way to talk to him without drawing the attention of the entire crew.

"You know, you can just walk up to him and start talking. He won't mind," I look over to see Marco leaning against the rail, staring at me.

"I know, I just don't know what to say….and I don't want a bunch of eavesdroppers listening in."

"Most of the crew are pretty good about giving people privacy while they talk to Pops, especially if it seems important." he assures, looking away from me, over to where Whitebeard sat, drinking his sake and watching his sons. I nod my head and take a deep breath, it was now or never I decided. I start making my way over to him, stopping just a few feet away from the side of his chair. I feel myself becoming nervous and clinch my hands into fist in the hopes of stopping them from shaking.

Taking another deep breath, I finish the trek to his chair and stand there, looking the other way and not saying a word. I feel a large hand land atop my head and gently ruffle my hair. I look over to see Whitebeard smiling gently at me, the same small smile that I had witnessed him giving to his sons. Feeling a little less nervous, I smile back and finally turn to face him completely.

"I…I would like to join your crew," I declare, before turning my head down, facing the floor boards. "But there is something you should know first."

"Alright son. What is it?" I glance up at him to see him staring at me patiently, looking as if nothing I said would change anything. So, I tell him. I tell him about Gol D. Roger being my father, about my mom prolonging her pregnancy so that the government didn't kill her, about her dying, about Garp promising to take care of me, and about my life with Dadan and Luffy. After I finish the story, I stand there anxiously waiting for his reaction, expect to get hit and hear degrading words of my worthlessness and that I should have never been born. I felt his large arms wrap around me and began bracing myself for the inevitable pain to come, but all he did was pull me close and hug me. "Welcome to the family, son."


End file.
